It pays to understand IP

As an entrepreneur, you have spent countless hours developing your product and building your company. With all of your hard work on the line, you want to make sure your business is protected.

Intellectual property (IP)—for example, patents and trademarks—is one of the most important and most overlooked parts of starting a knowledge-based business. In fact, only 20% of Canadian science and technology businesses have sought IP protection.

In the MaRS Best Practices video below, patent agents Shahrzad Esmaili and Grant Tisdall of Gowlings go through some of the important issues in navigating the patent process.

Understanding IP can help you protect your business venture and avoid costly mistakes

IP may seem intangible, but it’s a business asset that can increase your bottom line and help to define your product. It can also be used down the line in mergers or acquisitions. This, of course, is all in addition to the invaluable protection that IP provides for your product, preventing it from being copied or sold by a competitor.

With so much on the line, make sure you do it right when it comes to IP and ensure that your products and business are properly protected.

This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to understanding and filing for IP. To learn more information and to hear advice, including strategies for patent filing and what type of IP is right for your business, view the full best practices video below: